The basic components of an acoustic stringed instrument are a soundboard, a hollow body, strings, a neck along which a plurality of strings run parallel, and anchor points for the strings. The anchor points are found at the head of the neck and at the bridge, which is anchored to the soundboard. Strings are secured to the outer surface of a soundboard by means of a bridge. Stringed instruments have been designed and constructed with a soundboard to amplify or enhance the sound produced from the vibration of the strings as the instrument is played. This is best exemplified in acoustic guitars. To play the instrument, the strings are tapped, picked, or plucked. These actions transfer sound vibrations through the bridge to the soundboard. In general, the soundboard features a round hole cut through it, to better transmit sound. The soundboard is critical, because changes to the soundboard affects sound production, tone, quality, volume, and amplification.
Structurally, the soundboard provides shape to the instrument. The instrument's neck, sides, and sound box must consider the shape of the soundboard, and conform therewith. Furthermore, the soundboard securely anchors the bridge and strings. Optimally, soundboards are lightweight, flexible, and durable. Therefore, any reinforcement or bracing that exerts unnecessary pressure on the soundboard will inhibit its ability to respond to the vibration of the strings. This same undesired effect results if the reinforcement or bracing makes unnecessary contact with the soundboard. This effect is analogous to touching the cone of a vibrating stereo speaker. As pressure or contact with the vibrating cone increases, volume output and sound quality decreases.
The desired characteristics of an effective soundboard are in direct opposition with the demands placed upon it. For centuries, luthiers have been faced with a dilemma: the lightweight and flexible qualities desired of a soundboard are not conducive to withstanding the tensile forces of a guitar's strings, particularly over a long period of time. This dilemma is compounded by the constant demand for a durable, yet esthetically pleasing guitar. Over the years, acoustic guitar design has been a delicate compromise between structural integrity and sound quality. Without a counteracting force, such tension would cause total failure of the instrument as the soundboard structure warped under the pressure. Specifically, the static string tension pulls the neck toward the body, pries the bridge from the soundboard, or collapses the body altogether. Distortion of the instrument eventually leads to undesirable sound quality, and repairs can be expensive.
Accordingly, there is a need for an invention that provides sufficient strength to support the soundboard of a stringed instrument, while still allowing for superior sound production and aesthetic beauty. This support is best effectuated through counteracting the force of the strings. Also, it is important for a stringed instrument to be aesthetically pleasing as they are often used for exhibition and entertainment purposes.
Numerous inventions have attempted to remedy these concerns. The stringed musical instrument balancer in U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,767 to Swift includes a bracket attached underneath the bridge and an adjustable brace attached to the block, stabilizing the neck inside the body cavity of the stringed musical instrument. The bracket and brace are connected by a non-elastic string to offset the torque exerted by the instrument's strings. Due to its low mass and minimal contact with the soundboard, the invention does not greatly impact the sound quality of the instrument. However, the present invention advantageously departs from Swift by providing overall support to the entire instrument and not merely to the soundboard and bridge. Furthermore, Swift's single non-elastic string runs down the center of the guitar body cavity, making it visible through the sound hole of the instrument. This characteristic thereby detracts from the aesthetic quality of the guitar itself.
This same compromise in the guitar's appearance is evident in devices similar to those U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/706,514 to Drew.
Some inventions have attempted to hide the bracing from view. For example, the U.S. Patent to Shellhammer (U.S. Pat. No. 7,446,247) anchors its bracing system to the soundboard. This design, however, still compromises the soundboard structure, because the forces upon the anchor points are still transmitted to the soundboard itself. The present invention substantially departs from the shortcomings in Shellhammer, because the brace anchor points are to the neck block and tail block, not just to the soundboard and bridge. Thus, the present invention can better support the soundboard by depending on the structural strength of the guitar body as a whole.
The ability to freely vibrate is a critical characteristic for a soundboard. Although many devices in the past have sought to reinforce the structural integrity of the soundboard, they also hinder its ability to vibrate. Such is the case in devices like the guitar body reinforcement in U.S. Pat. No. 7,439,427 to Kroeger et. al. While it discloses a system providing support for the soundboard, body, and neck of a stringed musical instrument by way of structures mounted onto the underside of the soundboard, inevitably, the sounds emanating from this soundboard will be muffled, because it does not allow the soundboard to freely vibrate. The present invention departs from this characteristic in the prior art in that it offers structural support while allowing superior sound volume and quality, because it does not make contact with the soundboard. This allows it to move freely, and transmit the cleanest, sharpest sound possible.
Some prior art has attempted to minimize contact with the soundboard altogether. For instance. U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,159 to Houtsma discloses a soundboard-bridge configuration for acoustic guitars wherein the only contact between the bracing members and the soundboard exists at the edge of the soundboard and beneath the bridge. Admittedly, the area of contact is much smaller than is seen in other prior art; nonetheless, the present invention still allows for the soundboard to vibrate even more, because it has no contact between the bracing members and the soundboard at all.
Hie present invention solves a number of other problems presented by the prior art. Despite the inefficiencies of the prior art, the Applicant has found no prior art devices that are designed to address the need to provide a bracing system for guitars to prevent warping of the soundboard under the tensile forces of the strings over a period of time, while preserving the crisp sound quality of a soundboard that can effectively vibrate.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a body and bridge bracing system, which can be used for stringed musical instruments. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.